Harry Potter and the Mask of the Unforseen
by the antiterrific
Summary: Harry struggles to understand the mysteries of his new DADA teacher and what shes concealing while dealing with death and the looming threat of Voldemort's return.
1. The Best Birthday

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS, PLACES, THINGS, OR IDEAS THAT YOU RECOGNIZE. I WISH I DID. BUT I DON'T.  
  
A.N. : Okay, guys, this is my first fanfic ever.and I know it might seem a little flawed or predictable in places [i.e. where Juliet goes to school] but I'm trying really hard to make it just like another Harry Potter book, so those flaws might be hints to the eventual outcome, you never know ;) Anyhow, I don't want any kind of special reviews or anything just cus this is my first, just tell me if I should quit before I make a total fool out of myself with my idealistic fantasy book that's not even really mine. I really do intend to finish this, and I'm hoping it will be great. Okay.here goes.  
  
33  
  
_ _ _ * _  
  
Outside of the gleaming, cool bowels of number four, Privet Drive, a dark figure leaned against a large tree. There was life inside the house, both voices and light were emitted from the crystal clear front windows. Its owners sounded, however, not quite as cheerful and functional as their house suggested.  
  
The dark figure outside said nothing. He merely waited.  
  
He did not know how soon she would come. But when she did, they would sit and talk. He would stop feeling for just a second.  
  
Harry Potter met Juliet one night right after he returned from Hogwarts for summer holidays. She always walked her dog, Zero, late at night. On the first fateful night, Zero sensed the presence of someone, and ran straight for him. Harry had been sitting under this very tree, trying to wipe his face of both all emotion and all of the tears on it. He had missed Sirius terribly that night.trying to forget everything that had happened- trying to forget that his life might end in murder, trying to forget that the fate of the world rested in his hands and his alone. However, he was brought back to Earth from these thoughts sharply when Zero attacked him, having broken free of Juliet's hold. He was knocked backwards by the force of this demonic dog, and through this he met her.  
  
Juliet was tall with dark brown hair that looked red in the moonlight, which was the only time he had really seen her. She was beautiful, he supposed, but what he really liked best about her was that they could talk. He could forget everything that had transpired over the course of his fifth year at Hogwarts by merely talking to this Muggle. He found it interesting to finally have his first real Muggle friend, because in school, Dudley and his gang had prevented him from forming friendships. Juliet had been born in England, but went to boarding school in France. She had never attended an English school in her life. She loved her school, but because it was so far away, it was hard for her to come home often. She had no friends in Britain, and therefore she actually would rather stay in France. But, she said, a family crisis had brought her here for the summer, and she added, regretfully, that she would no longer attend the school in France that she adored so much. Harry told Juliet as much as he could about his school, and how much he wished he were there instead of here with his ignorant aunt and uncle. Most interestingly, Juliet's parents seemed to feel the same way as Harry did towards the Dursleys. They did not want their daughter associating with "those boorish Dursleys, or that boy who lives there", and Harry agreed with the former part of the statement. He wished it were not imperative that he stay and be good with the foulest Muggles on the planet. They kept him away from his only solace during the summer, because Juliet's parents' rule kept her from seeing him during the day, so they resorted to meeting every night around eleven outside number four while Juliet walked Zero.  
  
The pair would talk for hours each night, sometimes about nothing and sometimes about everything. Harry hated that he had to lie to her to conceal his wizarding experiences, but he knew that it was important that he did so. If he didn't, and the Ministry got wind of it, they would have his head for sure. They already hated everything about him and had been trying to kick him out of school for a very long time. But now they have something a little more pressing to deal with, Harry always thought whenever he wanted to tell her the truth and put himself in danger of Ministry inquiry. But most importantly of their relationship, whether entirely honest or not, was that Juliet kept him from thinking of Sirius or of the Prophecy or of the murder in his future. However, sometimes her company was not the best to have sometimes, because sometimes she would sound just like Sirius- her thoughts, her opinions, even her laugh was barklike. During times like these, Harry tried hard to concentrate on their conversation or, when it was particularly piercing, he would concentrate on smaller, easier things, such as the way her perfect hands brushed her hair out of her eyes.  
  
Harry didn't notice her walking up the street until he heard Zero vocalizing his joy at the thought of seeing Harry again. And just behind the dog stood The Girl. She smiled when she saw him and shoved her hair out of her eyes with one hand, then ran the remaining two front yards of sidewalks to reach that of number four.  
  
Juliet pulled a flower from her hair that she had obviously picked from her front yard and held it up to her mouth. Using her very best sports announcer voice, she said, "Harry Potter, you have exactly-" she checked her watch quickly- "forty-seven minutes before you turn seventeen. Do you have any last words?"  
  
Harry grinned. It was true. Just forty-seven minutes. He wished Sirius could see him, all grown up, how he wished Sirius were here.  
  
"Harry?" Juliet was still half joking, but he could see she was concerned by the wrinkles on her forehead and between her eyebrows. "Are you okay? You seem kind of preoccupied tonight."  
  
"No, no, I'm okay," Harry looked into Juliet's expectant eyes. He remembered all the times he lied to her to cover up his wizarding experience. Juliet cared about him, and if he told her the truth about what was going on, what he was, she would doubtlessly keep the secret. That is, if she believed the story. Which he was not sure would happen. So Harry decided to give her as much truth as he could without endangering himself or anyone else in the Order. "Well, I miss someone. I miss them a lot."  
  
Juliet sat down next to him. "Who do you miss?"  
  
Harry felt cornered and was tempted to give a complete and utter lie again. However, he looked at Juliet and knew that he had made a promise to himself, and to her, so he couldn't lie. "I.well, someone.someone I loved very much died about a month ago."  
  
Juliet didn't say anything at all. Didn't offer condolences, didn't touch his arm, didn't move, didn't do anything that members of the wizarding world had done to him. Harry was decidedly glad she didn't. They sat still and quiet for what seemed like a long time. When Juliet spoke again, it was not about loss.  
  
"Harry, you know that French school that I love?" asked Juliet rhetorically. "Well.I hate to tell you this, because it seems so dumb and predictable- but my school is Beauxbatons."  
  
Harry took a second to compute this confession, whereas Zero, who had previously been happily sitting next to Harry, jumped onto Juliet's lap and put her paws on her master's shoulders, as if she understood the magnitude of the statement. Harry just couldn't speak.  
  
"Harry, I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you before its just that when Zero found you and you told me your name I wanted to see what you are like beyond the whole 'boy who lived' thing and I wanted to know you impartial to all of the wizarding world and I know it must be hard to talk to anyone about Sirius-" Harry winced- "but Harry I always believed Dumbledore and the things he said I always knew he would come back and I always felt bad for you and I'm sorry I am doing this to you now but I can't take back the past so please please say something because I've now run out of things to say and have made a complete mess of our friendship and a fool of myself."  
  
Harry gaped at Juliet, breathing fast from her quickly spoken monologue. She, who had been his only consolation all this summer, had lied. How was he to trust her now? How could he know she was really on the side of good? Harry put his head in his hands, realizing he had lied to her too.  
  
"Oh, no, Harry, don't! Don't do that, listen, I know how you must be feeling about me, but I'm trustworthy, I swear. I'm living with Mrs. Figg, I never knew my father, and my mother was killed by Death Eaters. traveling to Beauxbatons to see me. Listen to me, we are in the same position. Orphans. On the side of good. Harry, I like you so much, please don't hate me." Her voice began to tremble.  
  
Harry's mind reeled. Mother killed by Voldemort? Living with member of the Order? LIKED HIM??  
  
He looked up at Juliet and said, "Its okay, don't -don't- cry. I believe you, and I'm glad you told me.I'm really glad we met, I'm glad you're a witch, and I'm really sorry about your mom. I hope this doesn't seem rude, but what happened?"  
  
Just then, though, the alarm on Juliet's watch went off. She looked at it and grinned, then said, "Happy Birthday, Harry. Would you like your present?"  
  
What he really wanted was to know about how her mother died, but instead he said "Sure," because he knew how well Death liked to be left alone.  
  
Juliet smiled again and said, "All right, then, close your eyes."  
  
And just like that, Harry's mind was driven from Voldemort, from Juliet's confession, from the Prophecy, from the goings on inside the Dursley household, and even momentarily from Sirius. He thought then that he had never received a better birthday present than the kiss that Juliet gave him. 


	2. The Morning Post

Hey guys! Thanks for the positive reviews, it really means a lot to me. To StaticDarklighter, I worked out the math and Harry enters his first year at Hogwarts when he's eleven. Eleven plus six is seventeen. I thought it was weird at first too, he really shouldn't be that old. But, he is, so whatever. To Lilolu - whoa. You're ridiculously nice to me. I knew it was kind of Mary-Sue-ish, but I warned you in the beginning of the last chapter about my idealism.  
  
I feel like kind of a loser for updating again today, the day after posting my story. But I've had a bad day and I have no way to escape, and I've had the second chapter written for a long time. I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the others, and if you don't, I promise they will get better.you find out what the Dursleys are up to next chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing, I really want to know what people think.  
  
Also- if anyone knows how to make things bold, italic, or underlined in my fic [I upload from Microsoft Word] , please explain it to me. I would love you forever. I just don't get it, and its soo much harder for me to write letters like those sent to Harry in this chapter in italic if I cant use it [ I've been using the "~" symbol to signify letters]  
  
_ _ _ * _  
  
Harry awoke on his birthday remembering the events of the wee hours of that morning with a large smile. He was so wrapped up in remembrance that he forgot to miss Sirius and forgot to realize what had woken him up. He was dressing rather dreamily when there was a sharp tapping on his window. Harry turned towards it and immediately saw the source of the "alarm". At least half a dozen owls were hovering by his window; most carrying parcels of various shape, size, and color.  
  
Harry ran to the window, snapping abruptly out of his dreamy state. He opened it, and the owls fluttered inside, leaving behind a trail of feathers. Harry stood, rather stunned by the number of owls currently residing on his bed. However, many of them did not stay very long. All but three of the owls left immediately after depositing their parcels and letters. Those left were Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl, Harry's own Hedwig, and a rather squat, ugly, glossy black owl that Harry did not recognize. Hedwig dropped her package and half fluttered, half waddled to Harry, nipping his arm affectionately before flying to her water and food trays. The black owl was eyeing Pig, who was, as always, twittering and bouncing madly off the walls of Harry's room. Harry grinned, though the black owl's incessant staring made him a little edgy.  
  
Harry didn't know where to start. He looked about all the parcels on his bed and decided, because of his feelings about the black owl, to open its letter first. It read:  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Dearest Harry:  
  
Happy birthday! You're finally old enough to break out of school and follow in our footsteps! Our joke shop is doing phenomenally, so well, actually, that we could afford this top of the line [yet ugly as hell] owl, whom we have affectionately and appropriately named Dolores. We feel that she bears a large resemblance to the original. Anywho, we wanted to thank you again for your generosity and kindness in helping us get out of that school and into business. We have decided for your birthday, we are giving you a lifetime, limitless gift certificate to our store. In other words.our store is yours!  
  
Best Wishes, Fred and George  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Harry smiled as he thought of the new lovely ways he could legally torment Dudley. Dolores the owl, who, now that Harry thought about it, did really look quite a lot like that miserable toad woman, seemed to wink at him as soon as she took off for Diagon Alley again. Next, Harry opened his Hogwarts letter, which, he considered with a pang while slitting the letter open, could contain his O.W.L. results. Harry took a deep breath and pulled out the contents of his letter.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Dear Mr. Potter~ We are pleased to inform you of your O.W.L. results from the end-of-year tests taken last semester.  
  
Astronomy: A Care of Magical Creatures: E Charms: E Defense Against the Dark Arts: O History of Magic: D Potions: A  
  
Transfiguration: E  
  
You have qualified for the following N.E.W.T. preparatory classes:  
  
Astronomy Care of Magical Creatures  
  
Charms  
  
Defense Against the Dark Arts  
  
Potions  
  
Transfiguration  
  
Congratulations, and we are looking forward to seeing you on September 1st for another Hogwarts year.  
  
Minerva M. McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Harry stood in the middle of his room, simply shocked at his good grades. He had not been so confident as he left the testing that he would be able to become an Auror because of his grades, but he had qualified for all the necessary classes. He was so thrilled that he didn't read his booklist for the following year. He did, however, enjoy a large, scribbled drawing that had obviously been sneakily folded in with the Hogwarts letter from Hagrid. Apparently, Grawp was moving along nicely with English and his motor skills. He also apparently missed Harry and "Hermy" very, very much. Harry, laughing, hung the picture on his wall.  
  
The letters from Ron and Hermione were very nice and reassuring, Hermione's mentioning "staying strong" and "being there for him". Harry missed Hermione terribly. He also missed Ron more than ever before. Their presents both proceeded to intensify his feelings of yearning for the pair. Ron's was a framed picture of the three of them in their second year, one that Colin Creevey had taken and Ron had snatched. In the picture, the three were grinning and waving madly, but what Harry didn't understand was that in the picture, Ron and Hermione were standing next to each other, and very close, whereas he remembered Colin putting Harry between the two for the picture. Harry wondered why this would happen in a picture. He had always known that Ron had had some kind of tortured feelings for Hermione, but he had only noticed them in their fourth year after the Viktor Krum/ Yule Ball fiasco. Harry shook his head and smiled warmly down on the large, rather lopsided birthday cake that Hermione had sent [and obviously baked herself] for him. He grinned and decided to bring it out tonight for he and Juliet as a snack.  
  
At this thought, Harry was drawn into a dreamy reverie of Juliet for a few minutes.  
  
When he finally recovered, Harry hid the food and put up the cards and pictures. The next parcel he opened contained a lovely color-changing set of Gobstones from Tonks, who challenged him to a match the next time they met, which she hinted would be soon. But the second Harry's eyes left Tonks's signature, the paper turned blank and then a new message appeared. Harry, transfixed, read the two words carefully.  
  
tonight. ~moony  
  
And with that, the paper burst into flame, slightly burning Harry's hands, curled into ashes, and settled into small piles on the floor.  
  
Harry was glad for this news very quickly. Breaking out tonight! But then Harry remembered Juliet. Perhaps she would meet someone else before they saw each other again. Perhaps she would be angry with him for leaving so abruptly. Perhaps he would never see her again. Who knew where she was going after staying with Mrs. Figg. Harry sighed. He would have to find her, and now was the perfect time.  
  
However, Harry spotted the smallest letter, covered by the wrappings of the other packages and notes. It was bright orange, and that was the only way he noticed it. He pulled it from the rubble and opened it to read:  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Dear Harry:  
  
hello. Happy birthday? How is your sumer going? Mine is good, I gues. I wanted to tell you thanks for everything that hapend in june and for youre help with devense against the Dark arts. I got an E on the owl! She was so very pleased. I hope your okay and i hope to see you soon.  
  
Sincerely Neville Longbottom  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Harry was dumbfounded for a moment. He was so glad that Neville had achieved so much and that his Gram [for who else could "she" be?] believed more in his talent now. This was his second best birthday present- second only to Juliet's kiss. With that, Harry remembered his looming departure and began to run as quickly as he could to Mrs. Figg's, afraid of how Juliet would take the news, given the events of the previous night, but more afraid of how easily the Dursleys would let him out of the house. 


	3. Into The Fire

Third chapter, third endless night. Okay, my thanks tonight go out to *lysanne/white owl* and *Achilles4* for their wonderful comments- you guys really make fanfic writing worthwhile. Anyhow, this is the third chapter and stuff, I don't know what else to say. Keep reading and responding, it is really important to me. I hope you guys like this one.  
  
_ _ _ * _  
  
Harry rushed down the stairs, wondering where Juliet was, whether she was thinking of him, whether she would be angry. Once at the landing, Harry looked about, and, moving stealthily, crept up to the front door and was just about to step out when the doorknob he was turning began to turn the other way. Harry jumped backwards as the door crashed open, framing a large, purple Uncle Vernon, who did not seem to be very happy, and who was also muttering something about gardeners. Harry got to his knees and began to pick up the scattered letters that had been hastily thrust through the mail slot. Vernon began to walk towards the kitchen, noticing neither the mail nor Harry on the floor. Just as he began to walk forward, he slipped on a piece of stray mail that had lain on the wooden floor. With a deafening crash and a roar that would not be foreign to a rhinoceros, he landed on the floor. Harry jumped to his feet, dropping the mail, and rushing in from the kitchen came Aunt Petunia.  
  
Uncle Vernon had turned a lovely shade of blue now, but he seemed incapable of speech. Harry stood, staring down at Uncle Vernon, trying to think of something to do. He was actually terrified out of his wits. Finally, after what seemed like hours of deliberation, Harry leaned down and extended his hand to Uncle Vernon. Aunt Petunia had stopped in the doorway, gasping, her hands over her mouth. Uncle Vernon rolled over on one side, looking very much like a beached whale, and proceeded to get up from the floor with much difficulty without the help of Harry. Aunt Petunia suddenly rushed forward to help her husband, and as she did so, kept quite a distance between herself and her nephew. She eyed him with the suspicion and fear that one would give to a homeless man standing on a street corner. Aunt Petunia helped Uncle Vernon up, and said, "Vernon, are you alright, honey bunch?" Uncle Vernon groaned in reply. Acknowledging Harry for the first time since the letter had come, Aunt Petunia turned towards Harry and snapped, "Well, you heard him, go fill a hot water bottle! FAST!"  
  
Harry sighed. Although not a bit of this accident was his fault, Harry knew that Juliet would have to wait. He went to fill the water bottle. When he entered the living room, where Uncle Vernon lay on the couch, moaning, while Aunt Petunia was on the phone and Dudley was next to his father, obviously confused. Harry walked over to Dudley and grabbed his hand, then shoved the water bottle into it. Dudley jumped back as quickly as he could as though a large tarantula had just brushed up against it. He avoided eye contact with Harry.  
  
"Yes, I am so sorry for the short notice- I know, I know- it's just, Vernon's got to go to the hospital, we think he may have injured his back very badly- yes, yes. Thank you. We called nine-one-one. Yes, okay. I'll send him over now. Goodbye." Aunt Petunia hung up the phone and avoided Harry's eyes. "Harry, go pack a change of clothes. You will be spending the night at Mrs. Figg's while we take Vernon to the hospital. Come back here tomorrow morning. I take it you will be safe from- you'll be safe there. Dudley, PLEASE put that under Vernon's back, how are you darling? Are you okay?" Uncle Vernon moaned in response. However, Harry felt like laughing. He was being SENT to see Juliet! But how would Lupin know where he was? This was an unexpected twist. And as a squib, Mrs. Figg would not have any means of magical communication. Harry decided to ask her about it when he got there, for she was a member of the Order.  
  
Harry ran up the stairs, only mildly worried about Uncle Vernon's fall. He knew that even if he was really concerned, no one would notice because they were all pretending that neither he nor the magical world existed. Dumbledore had thought, rather stupidly, in Harry's opinion, that the Dursleys ought to know exactly what danger Harry was in of Voldemort and what was going on. He had sent a long letter to them, explaining things that Harry didn't know, and didn't want to know, to them. He supposed that they knew all about Sirius, about the Prophecy, about Voldemort's return. But all he cared about was seeing Juliet one last time.  
  
Harry packed as quickly as he could and ran out the front door, unobstructed by Uncle Vernon this time, and sprinted all the way to Mrs. Figg's. He hammered on the door until he could hear someone calling "I'm coming, hold your horses, I'm coming!" However, the voice behind the door was male, whereas Mrs. Figg was definitely not married, and Juliet didn't have a brother and her father was long gone.  
  
The door opened and Harry found himself standing face to face with Remus Lupin. Harry opened his mouth to exclaim his surprise, but found himself with a hand over his mouth and being pulled inside by his shirt collar. Once the door was shut, Harry looked at Lupin. He was obviously much more tired and old looking than he had been the last time they had met. However, his clothing looked much newer, and he looked very relieved to see Harry.  
  
"Professor! What are you doing here?" asked Harry, so bewildered by all of these events that he could not see the obvious set up of the plan. Lupin smiled at Harry and said, "You're a little tired, obviously. We set this meeting up. We bewitched the piece of mail to follow your uncle's foot wherever it fell to make him slip so we could get you over here. We knew they would never let you leave after they read the letter. However, once all the paramedics are gone, we can get your school things and get going to the headquarters. Everyone misses you, Harry."  
  
Trying to take all this information in, Harry also was concentrating on the most pressing issue in his mind. "Where's Juliet?" he asked hastily. Lupin grinned and began to laugh. "I thought the two of you might be-"  
  
"Harry!" From behind the two of them, Juliet had walked up and scared the living daylights out of both Harry and Lupin. "I'm so glad to see you!" Lupin clapped Harry on the arm and said, "Excuse me, I have to go help Arabella with breakfast." And with a wink in Harry's direction, he left the doorway. Juliet smiled and turned back towards Harry. "I was afraid that Remus's plan wouldn't work and you wouldn't come. But you're here, and I can tell you now. I wasn't allowed to tell you last night in case there were Death Eaters about, but I'm coming to Hogwarts with you!"  
  
Harry's eyes widened for a second as he took in the information and then a second later, as the good news registered in his mind, picked Juliet up in a hug and spun her around. "Oh," he began, "I'm so glad! I woke up this morning and I got Lupin's message and I was afraid I'd never see you again and I started to run here but Uncle Vernon tripped over the letter and that's why I was so late and-" at this point Harry realized that he was still holding Juliet in his arms, so he quickly let go and stepped back towards the door. Rather uncomfortably, he said, "We'd better go see Mrs. Figg." Harry turned, opened the door, and walked into Mrs. Figg's house, which still smelled of cabbage. Juliet came up from behind him and led the way to the kitchen.  
  
Inside the warm kitchen, Lupin and Mrs. Figg were sitting across from each other sipping tea, with the distinct look of people who had stopped talking very abruptly. "Hello, Harry," exclaimed Mrs. Figg in her rusty voice. "I am so glad to see that you and Juliet met. I just knew that you would like each other. She's my granddaughter, you know." Harry smiled and said, "Yeah, Mrs. Figg, I know. I'm just curious, though, why wouldn't you let her see me during the day?" Mrs. Figg's face fell a bit and she said, very loudly, "Well, Harry, we have tea and toast here, would you like some?" Harry looked from Mrs. Figg to Juliet to Lupin and there was a nasty silence. Finally Lupin spoke. "Listen, Harry, Juliet's mother was recently killed. We don't want to give away Arabella's position and the fact that she has contact with wizards and the Order, and we do NOT want Juliet found by anyone." Juliet stomped her foot at these words and cried, "WHY do you not want them to know where I am? It's not like I'm Harry or anything- seriously- nobody would consider my death very crucial. I am not important in the grand scheme of things." Both adults looked rather uncomfortable, but neither answered her. Lupin merely offered toast to the two teenagers, who sat down rather reluctantly. Juliet picked up "The Daily Prophet" from the table, and proceeded to hide her face behind it as she ate. Harry sat and ate, talking to Mrs. Figg and Lupin about dumb things, such as the O.W.L. s. Lupin told Harry that he was very proud of the seven O.W.L. s that he had achieved, and that Sirius would have been too. Harry became very quiet after that.  
  
Later that day, when Lupin was sure the Dursleys had cleared out, Juliet and Harry went back across the street to collect his books, broomstick, and trunk, Juliet disguised underneath Lupin's Invisibility Cloak. Both were quiet, and neither really knew why. As they hauled Harry's trunk, the last item, down the stairs, Juliet spoke.  
  
"My mother was killed last June. All the parents come to the school during the last week of the year to receive test results and stuff and meet teachers and friends and get their kids. Well, my mom was traveling alone, like always, and she stopped in an inn in Straussburg, and she went to bed that night and she-" Juliet's voice cracked "-well, she never woke up. The inn was swarming with Death Eaters, and she was killed. Randomly. Who knows why." Juliet paused. "Actually, I think that Remus knows why, but he's not telling. Whenever he looks at me, though, he gets all sad eyed and stuff. I've been trying to get it out of him for a long time, but he never gives." Juliet paused again."Can you find out for me? He seems really close to you- like a father almost."  
  
She and Harry set the trunk down at the front door with the rest of his belongings. "I- I can't ask him anything. I really can't, it's just that I think he needs to have his secrets, and there really are reasons for them. When you live with members of the Order, you get used to secrecy. When it's time for you to understand why things happen, you do. If it's not, then you can't expect anything more."  
  
"Harry, just promise me that if he tells you, you will tell me. Please. I need to know why my mother is dead. Don't you ever wonder why your parents are?"  
  
Harry sighed because he knew, but looked at Juliet and thought of all the times he wondered why death had struck him. He knew that he would tell her if he found out. So he nodded and said "Okay, I will tell you, I promise," and it was like the sun set on her face. She walked around the trunk to Harry and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Then she grabbed the Invisibility Cloak, pulled it over herself, and the pair walked outside to where Mrs. Figg was waiting with some sort of a cart. Harry loaded it with all of his things for school, and pushed it back into Mrs. Figg's kitchen, where an emerald green fire told him that they were about to travel by Floo Powder. Lupin took the cart into the fire with him and shouted "NUMBER FOURTEEN, GRIMMUALD DRIVE", and disappeared. Next, Juliet hugged her grandmother goodbye, and walked into the fire, shouting the same words as Lupin had. Finally, Harry, tucking his glasses into his pocket for so he wouldn't lose them, waved goodbye to Mrs. Figg and stepped into the fire. 


	4. The Dream

Well, guys, its been a few weeks. I'm at my personal hell again, which means several consecutive chapters to any of you who care at all. Every night I write here, when I have to stay in this goddamned hell hole. These last few weeks have been kinda bad, you guys, so just bear with me if my story lags. If you are reading this. Which you are not. All my friends, *static darklighter*, *achilles4*, and the rest all have probably forgotten me and my stupid story anyhow. Anyhow, here goes.  
  
P.S. Ben Folds is the most amazing man on the face of the earth currently, as well as my hero of the piano, and the only stable thing ever is 'Dawson's Creek' coming on every morning at ten and ending at twelve on channel thirty nine.  
  
P.P.S. I realized I forgot to dedicate my story to someone. So the dedication is to Anne. I love you so much.  
  
_ _ _ * _  
  
Harry Potter stepped out of the tall green flames in the familiar grate which he recognized as that of number fourteen, Grimmauld Drive in London. Sirius's old house. Harry felt a pang of guilt because he had not really thought of Sirius since the previous day, before all this had started. However, he did not have a long time to dwell on this thought because as soon as he stepped out of the fire, the room exploded with noise. Shouts of Harry's name and loud, high pitched giggles met his ears and he was engulfed by several people throwing themselves at him. Harry was dimly aware of these distractions, though, because he was overcome with a distinct longing for Sirius as he heard his name from all directions. There was nothing, no amount of people, no amount of hugging and shouting and laughter that could fill the place where his heart had been.  
  
"Oh, Harry! - we've been so worried for you - I'm so glad to see you - Harry, you look so thin - I'm so sorry our letters have been so short - we missed you - are you okay- oh, Harry!!"  
  
The voices and the people merged together. 'Isn't it so funny,' Harry mused to himself, as he forced himself to smile at all the people goggling at him and hugging him, 'that one moment, when I'm alone, I don't think of Sirius once, and the next, when I'm surrounded with wonderful people, I can't stand it.' Harry resisted the urge to scream out loud, and instead looked about the room at all the smiling people. Ron was the first person he saw, grinning happily from straight ahead of him. His eyes seemed brighter, his grin bigger. Harry was glad to see him happy. Right next to him was Hermione, smiling shyly and containing her joy at seeing him very successfully. If Harry had not known her so well, he would have thought that she was actually bored. Next to her was Ginny, who, for the first time, Harry realized was really very beautiful. He wondered absently if Hermione was beautiful too, and he glanced back at her, and realized that she was. They had both grown, they were no longer just the girl who paid attention in History of Magic and got he and Ron out of tight spots and the girl who wrote the most terrible valentine in the history of the world who had a crush on him. It struck Harry, very suddenly, that all of them were almost adults. Harry decided to definitely avoid that certain thought, and so moved on in his surveying of the room. He saw Tonks, who also looked very different than she had before. Her face was the same, but since she was a metamorphmagus, she had changed her hair to take the colors of the rainbow, each color in a different ponytail. She was also wearing a rather strange black shirt that said the words "My Name Is Jonas". Harry wondered what these words meant, but continued looking over the crowd at the grate. Next to her stood Arthur Weasley, who looked no different than usual, except that he was not looking at Harry. Harry followed his eyes to Tonks's neck, where a pair of muggle headphones rested. Remus Lupin stood next to Mr. Weasley, and next to him stood Juliet, who was every now and then glancing at Mad-Eye Moody very apprehensively. Harry got the distinct feeling that she was extremely uncomfortable, and that she would be even if she were not standing next to Mad-Eye. Mad-Eye Moody's mad eye was wheeling around madly, and whenever it passed over Juliet, her own eye twitched. Harry was just about to say something when suddenly his view was again obstructed.  
  
"Oh, Harry, darling, its wonderful to see you! You and Juliet look positively dreadful. I don't know whats in that air there in Little Whinging, but the two of you just look like you might keel over any second. Remus, don't protest, you don't look so well yourself. I really don't know how Arabella can live there so comfortably, though of course shes a strong old woman, but then again, shes lived there all her life and you were never really meant to live amongst muggles, and plus your aunt and uncle never really fed you very well, did they? Im just glad they've begun treating you half civilly this summer and you write and everyuthing." Mrs. Weasley had come up from behind him and had wrapped both he and Juliet as tightly as she could in thick blankets as she spoke. Harry barely had the time to wonder what had happened to Mrs. Weasley since he had last seen her, because she was definitely a very, very different person. However, almost as though she could read his thoughts and didn't want him to think what he was, Mrs. Weasley began speaking again. "FRED!! GEORGE!!! WHERE ARE YOU?? HARRY HAS COME!! WHERE ARE YOU????" Juliet, who Mrs. Weasley was rewrapping in blankets, stared down at the squat, red-haired woman with the noticeable expression of one who is scared stiff. Mrs. Weasley, however, did not seem to notice. Instead, she turned to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and ordered, "Take these two upstairs to their rooms, they need rest and relaxation. We will come get you for dinner in about two hours, kids, theres actually an Order meeting in about half an hour," she added more kindly to Harry and Juliet. So Harry, Juliet, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny shuffled out of the room and began to walk towards the stairs.  
  
When they got to the foot of the stairs, Ron turned to Juliet and Harry and said, "Hey- listen, I'm really sorry about my mum. She hasn't been herself since- well, you kn-"  
  
"Shes not been the same since Sirius died. She pretended to hate him, but she really did love him like the rest of us, Harry," Hermione interjected firmly. Then she looked at Ron and nodded slightly, as though she was giving him permission to speak again.  
  
"Er- anyways," Ron began again, "She's just been a little messed up lately, you know. When one of us coughs or sneezes or something, she forces us to drink that horrible Pepperup stuff. And I mean, the other day, I was outside, right? And this fly, this dumb, prat fly flew right up my nose! And so I sneezed and my mum heard me and she freaked out. I tried to tell her it was a fly, but she forced me to take this medicine and stay in bed all day. And I had to get Fred to magic the fly out when she finally left me alone." Juliet giggled, and Ron seemed to be encouraged. "Yeah," he said, "Shes just been so afraid of illness since, well y-" Hermione stomped on Ron's foot- "Well," Ron began yet again, his eyes tearing, "Since Sirius died. Shes afraid she is going to lose someone else."  
  
Harry looked at the floor and he felt four pairs of eyes boring holes into him, holes into his soul, as if they were trying to inspect the place where his heart had been torn out, as though he was some kind of an exhibit in the zoo. He pushed past them and walked upstairs to his room, where Phineas Nigellus's empty frame hung blankly on the wall. He wondered if Phineas was mocking him. He wondered if Phineas was angry that the Black family tree had ended. He wondered if Mrs. Black was upset. He wondered if Phineas ever wanted to cry. He wondered if Phineas had any friends. He wondered if Sirius had had any friends since his father died. He wondered if his friends would die and it would be all his fault. He wondered if all his friends would die before the final showdown came and whether he would care whether he lived or died. He wondered if Sirius's death was just another way of making him different from everyone else. Harry wondered and wondered and wondered until he heard a loud, loud crash. Harry jumped up from his bed, where nobody had bothered him since he had left them all at the foot of the stairs. Harry did not know how long he had been upstairs, but he was sure it wasn't a good idea that he had left them all. He should never, ever leave them, for fear they would be gone. He opened the door and ran down the stairs. Harry stopped dead when he reached the second stair from the top, however, because he could see down the stairs. In the front hall, Voldemort was standing in front of Juliet and Ron, who were kissing, and Hermione and Remus, who were playing a clapping game that girls used to do during recess when he was in primary school. Hermione, however, looked quite different than usual: she was wearing a very slinky black dress, long earrings, and lots of dark makeup. They were standing right in front of the doorway- they could get out. Voldemort hissed at Harry "This is the moment of truth. Choose your life or the life of your friends." Harry stood there for what seemed like hours, for what seemed like a millennia, trying to decide, until Voldemort began to speak again. "Harry, your time has run out, and for this, I have decided to set my friends on your friends," and with that Voldemort snapped, and four dementors glided into the hall from all sides and bent over to kiss each of them. Harry's brain woke up as he watched Hermione fall limp in the Dementor's arms and he tried to call out his decision, the one he knew he would make from the very second Voldemort had told him his choices, but Voldemort merely pulled out his wand and said, "I'm sorry, Harry, you are much too late. Lupin, Granger, Weasley, and Black will be mine forever." Harry began to run then, faster and faster and faster, until he was out of the house, out of the world, floating about in the Universe, he was still running and running. He saw the Milky Way and in it, he saw Sirius's face grinning, and he tried to get there, but he couldn't move in space. And all the while Voldemort's voice still rang in his head. "Harry, you are much too late. Lupin, Granger, Weasley, and-"  
  
"H-H- Harry?"  
  
Harry's eyes opened and he saw Hermione standing over him.  
  
"Harry? Are you okay? You were moving in your sleep, and talking- youre not still having strange dreams, are you? You are still-"  
  
"Hermione," Harry began, sweating from his terrible dream, "I just- listen, I just had a bad dream."  
  
"Tell me about it."  
  
"Well-"  
  
"Harry?" Hermione interjected meekly. "Please don't lie to me."  
  
Harry considered this request and decided that he would tell her the truth. He loved Hermione, he always had, she was always full of good advice, and she was best when Ron wasn't around. So he told her the truth.  
  
"Well- I didn't know I'd fallen asleep- so I thought I heard a really loud crash, when really I was asleep. And then Phineas Nigellus said that the Dark Lord would win at last, and I ran down the stairs. But Voldemort was standing by the door, and behind him were you and Remus, playing those old 'Miss Mary Mack' games, except you were wearing this slinky black dress and all this makeup and your hair looked like it did on the night of the Yule Ball. And Ron and Juliet were in the corner, snogging, and nobody seemed to care that they could leave, they could escape through the front door behind them. And so Voldemort said, 'This is the moment of truth. Choose your life or the life of your friends.' And I knew what I was going to choose, what I had to choose, but I couldn't say it. But when I finally could open my mouth, Voldemort said, 'Harry, your time has run out, and for this, I have decided to set my friends on your friends,' and four dementors came out and kissed all of you, but you, Hermione, you kissed them back and fell to the floor and you didn't move. And then Voldemort took out his wand and said, 'Youre much too late, Harry. Lupin, Granger, Weasley, and Black will be mine forever.' So I ran and ran until I ran myself up into space and I kept on hearing his voice and hearing his voice but in space I saw Sirius's face in the Milky Way and I was trying to get there but I couldn't and-"  
  
Harry realized he had been crying since he told Hermione about the dementors kissing his friends. Hermione stared at him. When she finally spoke, it was not about the tears that Harry was still trying to stop. She began, "Harry, whats Juliet's last name?"  
  
Harry wiped away a tear. "Figg. Like her grandmother. Her mother was never married."  
  
Hermione nodded quietly and then looked down sideways. "Harry?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'm really sorry."  
  
And Hermione put her arms around Harry and for once, he didn't try not to cry. 


	5. The Folly of Molly

Thanks for your reviews *Achilles4* and Anne, nobody else reads this. Whatev, just as long as I'm writing, I guess. To clear up your confusion, though, Achilles, that's the mystery: does Ron get Hermione or does Harry? Who wants Hermione? Are they all just friends or what?  
  
Dun dun dunnnn- keep reading, that's the cliffhanger. ;)  
  
p.s. Tomorrow a new member of the Order and her charge will be coming into the picture- stay tuned.  
  
_ _ _ * _  
  
When Harry woke up, Hermione was sitting on the edge of the foot of Harry's bed. He had not been aware of falling asleep, but obviously he had. 'Of course,' Harry thought, 'I was tired. That's why I had such a crazy dream. Then I fell back asleep. That's all.' But he couldn't help thinking that falling asleep with Hermione had been wrong, because the expression on her face begged to differ. Harry sat up.  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
Hermione jumped and turned to face Harry. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "You're- you're awake."  
  
"For someone so smart, Hermione, I'd have thought you got the whole sleeping thing down. When you fall asleep, you wake up," Harry grinned at her and said, "Hermione- you look like you've seen a ghost. Whets wrong with you?"  
  
Hermione seemed to snap out of her reverie then, and looked up at him in her usual, confident way. "Listen, Harry," she began, "We should go down for dinner. Mrs. Weasley probably thinks we're dead by now." And with that, she stood up and walked to the door. "Well?" she asked.  
  
Harry glanced at Phineas Nigellus's empty frame and wondered again if Phineas had any friends, before standing up to walk downstairs with Hermione. As they walked down the stairs, Harry wondered if Phineas was bad because he came from Slytherin and the Black family. He wondered if bad people could have friends so good as Hermione was.  
  
When they entered the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was bustling about the stove and ovens, talking a little to herself as she supervised the potatoes peeling and mashing themselves and the turkey basting itself. At the table behind her were Ginny, Ron, and Juliet. Ginny and Ron were in low voices to Juliet, rather conspiratorially, while a goblet of something steaming sat in front of her. Ginny looked up and saw both Hermione and Harry framed in the doorway and she pressed her finger vehemently to her lips and motioned for them to come sit down. When they had, she leaned across the table and whispered, "Where have you two been? Mum's been all worried that you're sick, Harry, so she set out that horrible pepper potion for you two to drink, and if you don't drink it, she'll skin you alive. I don't want her to know you're here until we've figured out what to do, this stuff makes you sick if you take it when youre not sick, and-"  
  
"Morning all! Lovely day it is today! Harry! Great to see you, mate!" Fred and George burst into the room out of nowhere, grinning. Their mother jumped and spun around, causing the potatoes to swirl around and the turkey to stab itself, whereas Ron, whose hand was next to the goblet of Pepperup potion, almost knocked it over. Fred and George grinned around as though there was absolutely nothing crazy about the idea of apparating into a room that contained their very angry mother and an assortment of butcher knives. "Hello, Mum," George said, striding forward to give her a hug before she could protest. At the moment that their mother was distracted, Fred took his wand from behind his back and said under his breath "Evanesco." The entire potion disappeared from the mug and he slipped two chocolates into Harry's hand, muttering, "These will make your ears smoke, but you wont feel a thing. Pepperup Phonies, 16 knuts each-"  
  
At that moment, George let go of his mother and said, "Mum, we are sorry we haven't been around this summer. Like we said, business is really even better now that all the little kiddies are out of school," he turned to wink at Fred, who then began to speak right where his brother left off, on the same thought, and even in the same tone of voice. "And we are making lots of money to bring home to you. We know you don't approve, but we love you and you really should expect better of us. Which is why we have come to tell you we have joined the Order."  
  
Mrs. Weasley, who had been kept from speaking by her sons, looked like she might faint. She didn't, for once, seem to have much to say. But instead of remaining cheery and rather haughty, Fred and George both looked a little worried.  
  
"Mum? Listen, were not trying to upset you- Mum- MUM!" Mrs. Weasley turned back to the counter very abruptly and continued making dinner. But George was not done, and began again, "It's our duty. It's our duty to Harry, it's our duty as Gryffindors, and it's our duty to the side of good. Mum, please don't be angry with us, we know you're upset about Sirius's death-" George broke off as his mother whipped around and slapped him as hard as she could across the face.  
  
Everyone in the room recoiled, even Juliet, as George staggered and Fred dashed up to support him. "What's the matter with you?" he shouted, "You're not the same! You taught us the difference between right and wrong, but you're angry because we chose the moral path! You're treating us like you would treat Percy for joining up with You-Know-Who! Why can't you just accept that we are adults and we can run our own lives?"  
  
Fred threw George's arm across his shoulders and both disapparated instantaneously, leaving Mrs. Weasley standing with her back to the stove, a hand over her mouth, looking utterly horrified. For several seconds that seemed much longer than usual seconds, nobody said anything. Finally, Ginny murmured, "Guys- go upstairs- I'll take care of this-" and the remaining four left the kitchen, Ron rather reluctantly, and walked through the entrance hall, where they sat down on the dust-ridden, moth-eaten, maroon carpet that covered the stairs. Ron put his head in his hands.  
  
"Its driving her mad, you know," he began, "all this. She can't deal with it. She cares too much about all of us, she doesn't want to see anyone hurt and she doesn't want to see anyone hurt while they should still be under her protection."  
  
"Ron, its okay, everything's going to be okay," said Hermione soothingly. "Your mother is such a strong woman, and we will all get through this, right Harry?"  
  
But Harry couldn't answer truthfully. He didn't know whether everything would turn out all right. He remembered the prophecy and that his life must include, or end in, violence and death, and he did not want that to happen. He knew that everything wasn't going to be okay, and that Sirius would definitely not be the last member of the Order to die. It would be an insult to Sirius's death and Sirius's cause to say that. But he had to; everyone was looking at him so expectantly-  
  
"Everything is going to be just fine, you wait and see," said Juliet out of nowhere, sensing Harry's inability to lie to his best friend. "You know how in books and in Muggle movies, the good always wins? Well, who's to say that life isn't like that? Life can be like that if you make it so."  
  
Both Harry and Hermione were stunned by this romantic, impractical view of life, but on the contrary, Ron seemed to be entranced by it. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, wondering whether this opinion was real or was just taken for Ron's sake, while Ron stared up at Juliet. "You think so? You really think so?"  
  
"It's the only thing I can believe in," said Juliet, smiling warmly at Ron. I can see your mother is a good person who just needs a little time and a little patience to get over what she's seen. I can see, she loves you too much to let you go, but she will get over this all very soon." Ron smiled, looking as though he felt much better. Harry wondered how Ron and Juliet were bonding so very nicely when they had only known each other for about two hours. So, to change the topic, Harry asked some questions that had been on his mind since he walked through the front hall for the first time this summer.  
  
"Where's Mrs. Black? Where's Kreacher? Where's the Black Family Tree?"  
  
Hermione's face darkened, and Ron, suddenly alert, turned his to the wall. "What?" asked Juliet, "Whets a Kreacher?"  
  
Hermione's eyes flashed, and she began. "Kreacher was the poor house-elf who died-"  
  
"Laughing after he heard Bellatrix Lestrange killed Sirius," Ron finished, determined to make the house elf look as bad as he possibly could. "Anyways, Juliet, he was the supposed house elf of number 14, Grimmauld Place, but he's also the one who made Harry come into the city and start the whole prophecy thing, and that whole chain of events led to Sirius dying."  
  
"He died WHAT?" Harry roared, the words suddenly registering his head, jumping up.  
  
Hermione flinched and said quickly, "He's dead, Harry! The house elf is dead! You can't hurt him! Besides, he didn't die laughing, he died in his sleep."  
  
Ron rolled his eyes and interjected, "That foul thing laughed for a day after the news, all through the night. He laughed in his sleep. Therefore, if he was asleep when he died and was laughing, then I am correct."  
  
Juliet sighed. "So this house-elf, he was crazy, but now he's dead, but nobody liked him, so nobody cares."  
  
"Basically," Harry and Ron said together, Ron adding, "Shut up, Hermione, you know you hated him too, don't say a word about it."  
  
"So," Harry said, cutting off Hermione and probably another endless tirade about the evils of house-elf enslavement, "What happened to Mrs. Black? Where's the family tree?"  
  
"When Phineas Nigellus told her, she freaked out. Broke through her picture, the canvas got all torn up and basically she killed herself. When she 'died', the Family Tree fell off the wall and we burned it in Sirius's memory." Ron nodded towards the empty frame by the doorway.  
  
"Why would the Tree fall down with her?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well," began Hermione, "Mrs. Black was the guardian of the family. As long as her memory lived on inside the picture, she could watch over the family and give them some ancient form of protection. However, when she fell, so did the roots of the family."  
  
"And good riddance!" said Juliet, quite unexpectedly and vehemently. When she saw everyone staring at her, she said, rather quietly, "I met Mrs. Black once. Remus used to come around a lot to see my mother, and sometimes he'd take me places. We came here once, and she saw me, and she just- she just lost it. She almost broke through the canvas. Nobody knows why. We only stayed here for about a second. Remus asked me to open the curtains, and when I did, I screamed and fell backwards, and she started shouting all this filthy stuff. I was pretty scarred. Remus told me about the Black family on the way back from London. He sounded pretty relieved, actually, that Mrs. Black shouted at me."  
  
There was an awkward silence following this confession, Juliet turned a brighter red than before. Harry felt bad for her, but all he could do was pull at the loose strings in the carpet. Suddenly, though, saving them all from the clutches of silence, Ginny slunk out through the kitchen door, looking very tired. "Hey," she said, "Dinner's gonna be ready soon. Mum's okay, she's just really overwhelmed right now-" Ginny trailed off, but began again. "If you see Lupin, Dad, Moody, or Tonks, tell them dinner in fifteen. I have to go take a shower. I have gravy in my hair." And with that, Ginny ran up the stairs past them.  
  
"There was no gravy in Ginny's hair," said Hermione.  
  
"We should go after her," Juliet looked at Hermione, and at once they began to run up the stairs after Ginny.  
  
When they were gone, Ron looked at Harry. "Man, you just have the best luck with girls, huh?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, knowing that Ron didn't know anything about he and Juliet.  
  
"You just stumble onto Juliet in some random town in Surrey, and she just happens to be related to a member of the Order and she just happens to be switching schools into yours and she is so hot. And last year you had the whole Cho thing-"  
  
"Hey- Ron? Do you like Juliet?"  
  
"She's real nice looking, Harry. And she's smart and funny and- reassuring- "  
  
"But don't you like Hermione?"  
  
"What?!? Of course not! Are you shitting me?"  
  
"Ron, I'm serious."  
  
"Harry, I'M being serious. I don't like Hermione. I like Juliet."  
  
"Well, then I don't know how to tell you this- listen, Ron," Harry began, not knowing how to tell his best friend that he had gotten the girl again, "listen, I just- she kissed me, all right? On my birthday, she said it was my present."  
  
There was a bit of a stunned silence as Ron let this news sink in, and then he said, rather confusedly, "Then what were you and Hermione doing alone earlier?"  
  
Harry didn't know how to answer. He didn't want to admit that he had problems, he didn't want to say he had been crying, but it could mean the demise ofr he and Juliet if he didn't tell Ron about his dream. "Okay, Ron," Harry began, "you just can't laugh, okay?"  
  
Ron looked at him very solemnly, "I won't laugh."  
  
"Well, I had this terrible nightmare, right? And when I woke up, Hermione was there. She asked me about my dream, and I told her what happened. And- " Harry really didn't want to do this- "And I started to cry, okay? So Hermione hugged me. That's it, okay?"  
  
Ron looked as though he were about to explode. "Sure," he managed, "I be- I- I believe-eve- you."  
  
Harry jumped to his feet and said, "You can laugh now, I'm going to unpack."  
  
"Good."  
  
And Ron's shouts of laughter could be heard echoing, bouncing, and ringing throughout the empty, cold, Black house. 


End file.
